In Mother and Child, I used nature as my studio space, looking to the work of Irving Penn, in particular, his indigenous series; as well as old masters such as Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, or Caravaggio, in their Madonna and Child studies, with the almond shape created between the two figures, the light traveling from the child’s face onto the mothers, and the very intentional use of the heavy blue blanket. The use of the blue blanket with an eagle woven into the fabric, has a double meaning: The first, the “blue,” is a reference to the Madonna and Child, the second, the eagle or the “Cuauhtli,” is a symbol of the Mexican Homeland. The eagle holds a specific association to the Aztec Empire. It was incorporated into the flag of the United Farm Workers labor union, giving it a direct connection to the working class of Mexico.